..:: audio-music dot info ::..


Main Page    The Desert Island    Copyright Notice
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz


Joe Cocker: With A Little Help From My Friends

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s

Artist: Joe Cocker
Title: With A Little Help From My Friends
Released: 1969
Label: Capitol Records
Time: 41:17
Producer(s): Denny Cordell
Appears with:
Category: Blues
Rating: ********.. (8/10)
Media type: CD
Purchase date:  1997
Price in €: 5,99
Web address: www.cocker.com

 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Feeling Alright (Mason) - 4:10
[2] Bye Bye Blackbird (Dixon/Henderson) - 3:27
[3] Change in Louise (Cocker/Stainton) - 3:22
[4] Marjorine (Cocker/Myles/Rattigan/Stainton) - 2:38
[5] Just Like a Woman (Dylan) - 5:17
[6] Do I Still Figure in Your Life? (Dello) - 3:59
[7] Sandpaper Cadillac (Cocker/Stainton) - 3:16
[8] Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (Benjamin/Caldwell/Marcus) - 4:41
[9] With a Little Help from My Friends (Lennon/McCartney) - 5:11
[10] I Shall Be Released (Dylan) - 4:35
[11] New Age of Lily (Cocker/Stainton) - 2:15
[12] Something's Coming On (Cocker/Stainton) - 2:15

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Joe Cocker - Vocals

Albert Lee - Guitar
Jimmy Page - Guitar
Steve Winwood - Keyboards
Paul Humphrey - Drums
Madeline Bell - Vocals
Matthew Fisher - Organ
Sue Glover - Vocals
Sunny Leslie - Vocals
Henry McCullough - Guitar
Artie Butler - Piano
Clem Cattini - Drums
Merry Clayton - Vocals
David Cohen - Guitar
Laudir Soares de Oliveria - Percussion
Tommy Eyre - Keyboards
Patrice Holloway - Vocals
Rossetta Hightower - Vocals
Brenda Holloway - Vocals
Carol Kaye - Bass
Mike Kellin - Drums
Kenny Slade - Drums
Chris Stainton - Bass, Keyboards
Tony Visconti - Guitar
B.J. Wilson - Drums

Bill Levenson - Reissue producer
J.P. Bean - Liner notes

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s

1969 CS A&M 75021-3106-4
1974 LP A&M QU-54182
1990 CD A&M 75021-3106
1990 LP A&M 3106
1992 CD Castle CLA172
1999 CD A&M 90419

Principally recorded at Olympic and Trident Studios, London, England in 1968. Originally released on A&M Records (3109).

Joe Cocker's debut built on the promise of the title track,a hit single the previous year, which had introduced the world to the singer's astonishing blues rasp of a voice and remains to this day one of the finest Beatles cover versions committed to vinyl. The vocal pyrotechnics of that song are muted on the rest of the album, with Cocker demonstrating hisfine handling of more subtle material such as Bob Dylan's "Just Like A Woman" and "I Shall Be Released". Backed by his own seasoned Grease Band and session players Jimmy Page and Steve Winwood, Cocker sings with a soulful intensity that shone all too briefly during his wayward career.



Joe Cocker and the Grease Band were ending a performance they gave recently at the Whiskey in Los Angeles. As they went into their explosive version of "With A Little Help From My Friends," a nubile young admirer, apparently driven wild by Cocker's amazing voice and insane spastic contortions, stationed herself on her back between Cocker's legs and, reaching up, began to work the Cocker cock with considerable fervor. Moments later Joe delivered the scream of his career.

Which is not to say that everyone will react with such frenzy to this latest and perhaps greatest British bearer of the Ray Charles tradition, but that Cocker's first album, a gem, should cause an awful lot of excitement. Despite the fact that he's a twenty-four year-old product of Sheffield, England, Cocker's voice is that of a middle-aged Southern black man—and the quality of his voice enables him to transcend (as does Ray Charles on his coke commercials) the lyrics and the traditional happy associations of such originally sprightly tunes as "Bye Bye Blackbird," turning them into astonishing, compelling expressions of pain and desperation.

That Cocker is a Charles imitator is beyond argument—at various places on his album he even receives vocal backing from former Raelettes. But Cocker has assimilated the Charles influence to the point where his feeling for what he is singing cannot really be questioned And, in answer to the question of why someone should listen to Cocker when there is Charles to listen to—how many times in recent years has the latter applied himself to such exceptional modern material as Dave Mason's "Feelin' Alright?" or such contemporary Dylan as "I Shall Be Released" (of which Cocker does the most evocative, moving version I've yet heard)?

Denny Cordell, late of Procol Harum fame, deserves a feverish round of applause for producing this album, in spite of such momentary lapses as stealing almost intact Havens' arrangement of "Just Like A Woman" and letting Jimmy Page nearly capsize "Bye Bye Blackbird" with a completely inappropriate solo. Cordell was so determined to come up with a perfect album (and the album is nearly perfect) that he spent over a year and a small fortune getting everything just so. For instance, he's reportedly got ten excellent takes of "Released" in a can somewhere, having decided that none of the takes—done by Al Kooper and Aynsley Dunbar among others—were quite good enough. Cordell's success in fusing a consistently marvelous backing unit out of America's premier studio soul singers and England's most famous rock musicians and delicate egos cannot be exaggerated.

Besides such material as the Dylan, Mason and Beatle stuff there are three originals written by Cocker and Grease Band keyboard man Chris Stainton: "Marjorine" (a Stainton puppet show score to which Joe added words), "A Change in Louise," and "Sandpaper Cadillac," all of which are brilliant rock tunes. It's a triumph all around. And the thought of Cocker's next album, which will include new Harrison and McCartney songs and a lot more Grease Band originals, is an exceptionally pleasant one. (RS 40)

JOHN MENDELSOHN - Rolling Stone
Posted: Aug, 23 1969



Joe Cocker's debut built on the promise of the title track, a hit single the previous year, which had introduced the world to the singer's astonishing blues rasp of a voice and remains to this day one of the finest Beatles cover versions committed to vinyl. The vocal pyrotechnics of that song are muted on the rest of the album, with Cocker demonstrating his fine handling of more subtle material such as Bob Dylan's "Just Like A Woman" and "I Shall Be Released." Backed by his own seasoned Grease Band and session players Jimmy Page and Steve Winwood, Cocker sings with a soulful intensity that shone all too briefly during his wayward career

CDUniverse.com



Q (7/00, p.130) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Good...establishing the formula with some majestic blue-eyed soul that swaggers all the way from 'Just Like A Woman' to an unlikely 'Bye Bye Blackbird'.... Reappraisal is long overdue. Now remastered, here's the ideal opportunity."



Joe Cocker's debut album holds up extraordinarily well across four decades, the singer's performance bolstered by some very sharp playing, not only by his established sideman/collaborator Chris Stainton, but also some top-notch session musicians, among them drummer Clem Cattini, Steve Winwood on organ, and guitarists Jimmy Page and Albert Lee, all sitting in. It's Cocker's voice, a soulful rasp of an instrument backed up by Madeline Bell, Sunny Weetman and Rossetta Hightower that carries this album and makes "Change in Louise," "Feeling Alright," "Just Like a Woman," "I Shall Be Released," and even "Bye Bye Blackbird" into profound listening experiences. But the surprises in the arrangements, tempo, and approaches taken help make this an exceptional album. Tracks like "Just Like a Woman," with its soaring gospel organ above a lean textured acoustic and light electric accompaniment, and the guitar-dominated rendition of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" -- the formal debut of the Grease Band on record -- all help make this an exceptional listening experience. The 1999 A&M reissue not only includes new notes and audiophile-quality sound, but also a pair of bonus tracks, the previously unanthologized B-sides "The New Age of Lily" and "Something Coming On," deserved better than the obscurity in which they previously dwelt.

Bruce Eder - All Music Guide



The album that foisted Joe Cocker on an unsuspecting public is full of tasteful, raucous covers, Cocker's trademark hysterical vocals, and outstanding studio backing by pros like Jimmy Page and Steve Winwood.

Tom Graves, All-Music Guide



If you don't really know Cocker, start here - Mad Dogs And Englishmen is more famous, but this is far more concise and crafted. Despite the frequent use of female choruses and a much more commercial approach, here Cocker is pleasantly close to Janis Joplin's late, boogie-woogie sound. He leads off with a cover of "Feeling Alright" that puts Traffic's original to shame, and includes some other first-rate covers as well (title track - although nobody beats the Beatles at their own game; "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" - ditto for the Animals). The originals form a distinct minority and aren't too memorable, although they do rock ("Marjorine"; "Sandpaper Cadillac"), and the heavy-duty star power that Cocker managed to scrape together doesn't make much of a difference: Jimmy Page soloing on the title track and "Bye Bye Blackbird," and strumming on a couple other tunes, and Steve Winwood noodling around a bit. But it's still an enjoyable 40 minutes. Co-produced by Leon Russell and Denny Cordell. Matthew Fisher (organ) and B. J. Wilson (drums) were borrowed from Procol Harum; Henry McCullough (guitar) later joined Wings, if only briefly.

JA



For my money, practically anyone could beat the Animals at their own game -- Santa Esmeralda did a much better version of "Misunderstood" than they ever did.

DBW
 

 L y r i c s


FEELIN' ALRIGHT

Seems I got to have a change of scene
Cause every night I have the strangest dreams
Imprisoned by the way it used to be
Left here on my own or so it seems
I got to leave before I start to scream
But someone's locked the door and took the key

Feelin' alright
Not feelin' too good myself
Feelin' alright
Not feelin' too good myself

Boy you sure took me for one big ride
Even now I sit and wonder why
And when I think of you I start to cry
Got to stop belivin' in all your lies
Cause I got to much to do before I die

Before someone comes along and takes my place
With a different name and yes a different face


BYE BYE BLACKBIRD

Pack up all my cares and woes
feeling low here I go
Bye Bye blackbird

Where somebody waits for me
sugar sweet so is she
Bye Bye Blackbird

No one seems to love or understand me
and all the hard luck stories they keep handing me
where somebody shines the light
I'll be coming on home tonight
Bye Bye Blackbird

Nobody seems to love or understand me
and all the hard luck stories they keep on handing me
where somebody shines the light
I'm coming on home tonight
Bye Bye Blackbird


CHANGE IN LOUISE

Still taking pictures of people at rest,
smiling at men who are never impressed,
always working hard down on bended knee,
who else but me can see the change in Louise?

Ride Louise, ride (yeah) let me be your guide
I'll take you any place you wanna go, (yes I will)
Ride Louise, ride (yeah) let me be your guide
and I'll show you all the things you want to know (if I can)

Livng her life at a speed all her own,
talking to people where ever she goes,
always working hard she won't disagree,
who else but me can see the change in Louise?

Ride Louise, ride (yeah) let me be your guide
I'll take you any place you wanna go, (yes I will)
Ride Louise, ride (yeah) let me be your guide
and I'll show you all the things you want to know (if I can)


MARJORINE

Marjorine, where have you been?
Did you meet the queen, Marjorine?
Let me know. Why did you go?
Why don't you show, Marjorine?
Oh, down by the sea, searchin' for me, Marjorine.
I want you back, but you will not get in the sack, no!
Each I go to town I see your face in a crowd and,
when I come back home, I call your name aloud.

Marjorine, life is too short.
You'll just get caught, Marjorine.
Hard to find. What's on your mind?
Won't be unkind, Marjorine.
Oh, clouds start to form, keeping you warm, Marjorine.
Life can be clean. Where have you been, oh, Marjorine?


JUST LIKE A WOMAN

Nobody feels any pain
Tonight as I stand here in the rain.
Everybody knows that baby's got new clothes,
But lately I see her ribbons and her bows
Have fallen from her curls.

She takes just like a woman.
She makes love just like a woman.
And then she aches just like a woman.
But she breaks just like a little girl.

Queen Mary, she's my friend.
Yes I believe I'll go see her again.
Nobody has to guess that baby can't be blessed
'Till she finally sees that she's like all the rest
With her fog (?), her amphetamines, and her pearls.

She takes just like a woman.
She makes love just like a woman.
And then she aches just like a woman.
But she breaks just like a little girl.

It raining at first, and I was dying there of thirst,
So I came in here.
And your long-time curse hurts, but what's worse
Is this pain in here.
I can't stay in here.
Ain't it clear...

That I just can't fit.
I believe it's time for us to quit.
But when we met again and are introduced as friends,
Please don't let on that you knew me when
I was hungry, and it was your world.

You take just like a woman.
You make love just like a woman.
And then you ache just like a woman.
But you break just like a little girl.


DO I STILL FIGURE IN YOUR LIFE

(Sorry, this lyrics is not available yet!)


SANDPAPER CADILLAC

(Sorry, this lyrics is not available yet!)


DON'T LET ME BE MISUNDERSTOOD

Baby, do you understand me now,
Sometimes I feel a little mad.
But, don't you know that no one alive can always be an angel.
When things go wrong I feel real bad.

I'm just a soul whose intentions are good,
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood.

Baby, sometimes I'm so carefree,
With a joy that's hard to hide.
And sometimes it seems that, all I have to do is worry
And then you're bound to see my other side.

I'm just a soul whose intentions are good,
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood.

If I seem edgy,
I want you to know,
That I never mean to take it out on you.

Life has its problems,
And I get my share,
And that's one thing I never mean to do,

'Cause I love you,
Oh,

Oh, oh, oh, baby - don't you know I'm human.
I have thoughts like any other one.
Sometimes I find myself, Lord, regretting,
Some foolish thing - some little simple thing I've done.

I'm just a soul whose intentions are good,
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood.

(repeat)

(repeat)


WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

What would you think if sang out of tune,
Would you stand up and walk out on me ?
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song
And I'll try not to sing out of key.

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends
Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends

What do I do when my love is away
(Does it worry you to be alone ?)
How do I feel by the end of the day,
(Are you sad because you're on your own ?)

No, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends
Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends

Do you need anybody
I need somebody to love
Could it be anybody
I want somebody to love.

Would you believe in a love at first sight
Yes I'm certain that it happen all the time
What do you see when you turn out the light
I can't tell you but I know it's mine,

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends
Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends

Do you need anybody, I just need someone to love
Could it be anybody, I want somebody to love.

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
with a little help from my friends.


I SHALL BE RELEASED

They say ev'rything can be replaced,
Yet ev'ry distance is not near.
So I remember ev'ry face
Of ev'ry man who put me here.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.

They say ev'ry man needs protection,
They say ev'ry man must fall.
Yet I swear I see my reflection
Some place so high above this wall.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.

Standing next to me in this lonely crowd,
Is a man who swears he's not to blame.
All day long I hear him shout so loud,
Crying out that he was framed.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


Currently no Samples available!